Date of Award
5-5-2022
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
English
Committee Chair(s)
Lisa Gabbert Afsane Rezaei Claudia Schwabe
Committee
Lisa Gabbert
Committee
Claudia Schwabe
Committee
Afsane Rezaei
Abstract
Folklorists study the active rituals between humans and deities, as well as the inactive participation between them in narrative. However, they do not study the active participation that comes in the form of video games between them, though with shifts in society, this new way of engaging through digital forms is widespread and accessible. In my research, I studied Russian and Japanese tree spirits in a variety of video games to understand this new form of engagement with ancient deities. These video games are Okami, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Black Book, and The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt. Through the lens of original context and the folkloresque, I use the concepts of recontextualization and traditionalization to explain why video games are the best modern format to engage with ancient deities through world-building, active player engagement, and deity representations.
Recommended Citation
Ziegler, Alexandria, "Making the Old New: The Recontextualization and Traditionalization of Tree Spirits in Video Games" (2022). All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023. 1631.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/gradreports/1631
Included in
Folklore Commons, Japanese Studies Commons, Linguistic Anthropology Commons, Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons, Other Religion Commons, Russian Literature Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons
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